Table 3 Clinical outcomes for the study patients before and after 1:1 propensity score matching
Characteristic | Unmatched | Matched | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Early steroid withdrawal, n = 111 (%) | Prolonged steroid tapering, n = 136 (%) | P value | Early steroid withdrawal, n = 68 (%) | Prolonged steroid tapering, n = 68 (%) | P value | ||
Length of hospitalization, days, median (IQR) | 13.0 (10.0–17.0) | 24.0 (17.0–39.0) | < 0.001 | 14.0 (11.0–18.5) | 20.0 (14.0–29.5) | 0.001 | |
Duration of oxygen support, days, median (IQR) | 11.0 (9.0–17.0) | 22.0 (15.0–37.0) | < 0.001 | 13.0 (9.0–17.0) | 17.5 (14.0–25.5) | 0.001 | |
Length of ICU stay, days, median (IQR) | 0.0 (0.0-5.5) | 12.0 (4.5–21.5) | < 0.001 | 1.0 (0.0–7.0) | 5.0 (0.0-13.5) | 0.01 | |
Duration of MV support, days, median (IQR) | 0.0 (0.0–0.0) | 8.5 (0.0-16.5) | < 0.001 | 0.0 (0.0–4.0) | 0.0 (0.0-9.5) | 0.21 | |
Aggravation after use of dexamethasoneb | 1 (0.9) | 6 (4.4) | 0.21 | 1 (1.5) | 1 (1.5) | > 0.99 | |
28-day mortality | 7 (6.3) | 12 (8.8) | 0.62 | 7 (10.3) | 4 (5.9) | 0.53 | |
60-day mortality | 8 (7.2) | 27 (19.9) | 0.01 | 8 (11.8) | 10 (14.7) | 0.80 | |
Readmission or revisit to the emergency departmentc | 3 (2.7) | 9 (6.6) | 0.26 | 2 (2.9) | 6 (8.8) | 0.27 | |
Incidence of rebound pneumonia | 9 (8.1) | 13 (9.6) | 0.86 | 6 (8.8) | 10 (14.7) | 0.43 | |
Infectious complications | 9 (8.1) | 24 (17.6) | 0.04 | 6 (8.8) | 11 (16.2) | 0.30 | |
Steroid-induced hyperglycemia | 7 (6.3) | 15 (11.0) | 0.28 | 4 (5.9) | 8 (11.8) | 0.36 | |
Steroid-induced psychiatric problems | 10 (9.0) | 15 (11.0) | 0.76 | 9 (13.2) | 8 (11.8) | > 0.99 | |
Emphysema or pneumothorax | 0 (0.0 | 24 (17.6) | < 0.001 | 0 (0.0) | 7 (10.3) | 0.02 | |